On the morning of the duel I ate breakfast with my family earlier than usual and went to see Sir Verret for any final preparations.
He had me try on the standard dueling gear to test for any ill fits or damage that might cause an injury. The leather cuirass, vambraces, and greaves all fit well and allowed for plenty of movement. We'd be using practice swords so needing to have any heavy armor to protect from cuts wasn't necessary but protecting your extremities from any blows that might break a bone is still a good idea.
As for the helm, I was told not to wear any by Sir Verret. There's a rule that any deliberate strike to the head is considered an automatic forfeit as it could result in death even with a practice weapon. You could still choose to wear something but it was considered an insult to the opponent's honor as it was an insinuation that they would try to play dirty to win or kill you.
After getting all my checks finished I walked out to my father who was waiting at the edge of the practice field. There was quite a crowd gathered around the outside of the field, with a lot of knights and guards from the castle being present as well as my mother and younger brother.
"Have you finished all your preparations for the duel?"
"Yes father."
"I believe in your ability with the rapier and I think you will easily win but is there any concerns you might have?"
"No, everything fits well and I've had plenty of time to go over things with Sir Verret before today."
"Good. Henry is preparing as we speak and he'll be ready to go in just a few moments."
He took a deep breath and looked at me with a serious expression of concern.
"I wouldn't have suggested you compete in this duel if I didn't believe in your capabilities Mari. I've not explained to you what I think of you but your abilities have spoken for themselves for years. You are excellent in everything you do, probably even better than your grandfather based on the stories the servants used to tell me. Don't hesitate and don't think you're incapable."
"I've seen Henry practice father. While I'm not sure I can avoid every strike he makes I'm almost positive that I will win the duel."
"Good, arrogance can be just as big of a reason to fail as insecurity. Your mother and brother are watching as well and they wish you good luck."
"Tell them I said thank you father."
With that he departed to a section of the crowd that was arranged especially for my family. Even now they have a tent and seats while the knights, guards, and servants remain standing. I know a duel like this won't take long but I can't help but think that having something prepared for everyone would be better than preserving the position of the Duke and his family in the eyes of others.
When Henry came out and acknowledged that he was ready to the knight chosen as our officiator we both approached the center of the field where a chalk circle had been drawn especially for the duel.
We lifted our blades to just in front of our faces with our dominant arms and placed our other hands behind our backs to indicate we were prepared for the duel. I noticed that Henry didn't have an offhand parrying blade. Was he that confident in his ability to win that he thought he wouldn't need to parry? Sir Verret has always told me that approaching any fight unprepared for any contingency, no matter how likely your chance of winning, is the action of fools. I already knew Henry was a fool but this just solidifies it. We're both right-handed so using a parrying blade to deflect an incoming strike or slash would prove easier than with an opponent whose dominant hand was different than our own.
I still won't underestimate him. He has been trained in the sword and I've seen that clearly during his practice.
When the knight nodded to show he understood we were ready we lowered our practice blades to a starting stance.
On the knight's whistle Henry moved his feet to take a stance indicating his intent to strike. He followed through by stepping forward with his right foot and extending his arm and blade to strike me in the chest. His motions appeared faster from where I'm standing now than they did when I was observing his training. But not by enough.
I quickly met his blade with my parrying dagger, allowing it to slide down the shaft of its smaller blade and placing itself neatly between that and one of the curved quillons on my crossguard. Sidestepping and giving the dagger a twist I locked his blade in place and cleanly avoided his strike. I intended to extend my own blade forward to strike at his chest but to my surprise the movement of my dagger caused Henry to lose his grip and, subsequently, his blade. I didn't hesitate long though, following through with a strike and gently tapping him directly in the center of his cuirass.
His practice blade tumbled uselessly to the ground, making a clatter on the dirt that echoed around as the crowd observing us had suddenly grown quiet. The silence was only momentary as suddenly the enormous cacophony of cheers burst from them, carrying beyond the practice grounds and causing even my ears to hurt.
Henry's face was burning red with shame, his expression twisting into one of anger and frustration. Hopefully some of that is directed inwards so he can realize his mistakes and recognize that this was the result of overconfidence. I knew that he was more capable than this at least.
I allowed time for him to pick up his practice blade and return to a ready stance before beginning my own onslaught. With a swift slash to the arm that would normally carry his parrying blade, I tried to make it appear as if my feet were slightly overextended. He blocked my blade with his own but didn't take advantage of my supposed mistake, instead taking a step back to ready himself for another strike from me.
Not wanting to miss this opportunity I directed a jab to his chest and again tried to make myself appear slightly overextended. He blocked my strike again and took another step back without taking advantage of my feint.
I realized then that he wasn't aware that I was deliberately making mistakes. If I continued coming at this duel as if I was facing someone with plenty of experience in fighting I might allow his behavior to actually cause me an injury. Sir Verret told me that adjusting my strategies to my opponent by assessing their abilities was more beneficial than always believing that every opponent would be as practiced as me. A novice with a blade could be just as dangerous in a duel due to their inexperience and unpredictability. To themselves as much as to their opponent.
I would still have to account for the possibility that he was pretending to be untrained in any real fight, but these weren't the motions of someone with practice pretending to be so. I'd seen Sir Verret attempt to show me the difference between a professional and an amateur. Henry's actions now and how Sir Verret was acting then were miniscule but noticeable.
Recognizing this I decided that I needed to just press my advantage and strike to end it without any fancy movements.
I swung at his parrying arm, then when he blocked I immediately pulled my blade back just enough to be able to get it around his own and stab his center mass. He stumbled backwards and became winded from the momentum of my strike, proving my second hit had landed and providing me with a bit of breathing room.
Taking advantage of this I swung at his right side and then, not even waiting, pulled my blade back just enough to jab forward while he was in the middle of attempting to block my previous swing.
This hit landed as well, knocking him over because he was off balance and effectively ending the duel.
The crowd immediately erupted into cheers again, louder this time but carrying the same amount of joy and amazement from earlier. I wasn't out of breath but their energy was beginning to affect my mental state and causing a tightness in my chest. I wasn't sure if what I was feeling was pride or anxiety but I was willing to believe it was the former.
A sudden silence fell upon the crowd though as I could hear Henry screaming about something as I was walking off the practice field. Turning to observe him and see what he had to say I saw he had formed three magic circles that were pointing directly at me.
Recognizing the runes that made up the formations I reacted as quickly as I could, forming three of my own circles to counter his attack. Each one of his circles was designed around fire and would be easily countered with water or ice so I used two of my own to spray water at his circles and stop them before the fire could reach far enough out to do any real damage. The third circle I used to create an ice wall that was slightly curved towards Henry in case the first two circles didn't create enough water to block all of the fire.
The only sounds I heard after the ice wall went up were of water pouring down and the tell-tale hiss of the extinguishing of flames. After a few seconds I decided to drop my ice wall and what I saw before me was amusing to say the least.
Henry was soaked and laying on the ground. The small scorch marks in front of him that reached barely a foot out indicated that I had reacted quickly enough to prevent any damage. He was confused and his face was red with shame once again.
The knights who had already started moving earlier but stopped when they saw me form some circles restarted their efforts to approach Henry. He was seized and bound; the cuffs attached to his wrists designed to prevent one from accessing their magic.
Cheers erupted from my audience again. My mother and brother had started rushing toward me earlier, only a step behind the knights that began to act after Henry formed his circles. Mother arrived first, throwing her arms around me and crying into my shoulder. Noah got there not long after but his reaction was completely different, a massive smile plastered on his face and excitement evident in his high-pitched voice.
"Wow sister! Dad was right when he said you're amazing with the sword and magic! That stupid guy didn't even get a hit and got sprayed by your magic!"
"Noah, watch your language. We don't call people stupid no matter how much they prove to us that they are."
Father's admonishment would be completely ineffective at discouraging Noah from using that word, but I won't be the one to tell him that.
Mother had finally regained her composure and pushed herself away from me. She held my shoulders while straightening her arms to keep me at a distance and observe me. I think she was looking for any injuries.
"She's not hurt Elaina. Henry's rapier never even came close to touching her and her magic was so fast that the only thing damaged was a small patch of dirt."
There was pride laced into his words. I don't know where it's coming from as all of this was the result of my own efforts and the teachings of Sir Verret and Mage Reginald. Somewhere in the back of my mind a whisper was trying to tell me that Lizabeth played a part too.
I thought I'd be happier with my family's acknowledgment of me but I found myself apathetic to their sudden interest in my abilities. Noah's words and reactions resonated with me as he was innocent and hadn't been corrupted by the ideas behind a firstborn daughter's existence. Beyond that their praise was hollow sounding to me.
I swore I would work on getting better and accepting what they offered but this was still uncomfortable. I don't think I'm willing to consider that their intentions could be mostly altruistic. I might not even be able to think about it being slightly altruistic. I was still viewing every positive thing they did through the lens of the past, scrutinizing every action to see if they were just going to demand something more of me.
There's a part of me that realizes that, logically, they don't deserve the unfair amount of criticism I'm giving them and that the real culprit of the majority of my suffering was Lizabeth. Another part of me wishes I could see her smiling face, hear her praising words, and feel her hugging me as I cried myself to sleep.
Noah's wonderful words pulled me out of my circle of self-loathing to ask another innocent but tactless question.
"Why aren't you happy that you won sister? You were awesome and I'd be really happy if I did something as cool as that."
How do I answer something like that? Talking about my experiences and emotions would go right over his head and he doesn't need to know about that even if he could understand.
"Noah, Mari's had training in keeping her emotions hidden just like how she was trained to be quiet. We're trying to help her show more expressions and talk more now."
He was quiet for a moment, something that's strange for him. Then he looked sadly at me and asked another innocent and tactless question.
"Is it hard to feel good or do you just hide them?"
I can answer this one without giving too much away.
"It's a little bit of both Noah. I'm not good with emotions and showing them to others."
"So you're not bored with me when we're playing just because your face doesn't move?"
Oh, so cute. He recognized my behavior but hadn't said anything about it until we brought it up. He's polite even if he's tactless.
"No I'm not bored with you when we play. Sometimes I'm happy when we talk and play games but I just don't show it well."
"I'll try not to be sad when you don't smile as we're playing anymore then."
He seems proud of himself for that statement. I'm not going to tell him that it was rude, that's my parents' job. Besides I want to see the reactions of others when he says tactless things in the future.
Mother interrupted our discussions this time.
"Mari, are you sure you're fine? I know you're not injured but how are you feeling?"
"I'm fine mother. I wasn't nervous and I'm not shaken by Henry's actions after the duel."
She examined me carefully, possibly to see if I was hiding anything. Satisfied that she'd gotten as much as she could out of me she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Let's go have lunch together in the gardens. I've had the servants prepare a meal for only the three of us as your father has work to do."
I'm fine with that. I'm the most uncomfortable around my father.
Lunch was calm, interrupted only by the excited chatter of Noah as he described all my actions in the duel with sound effects and loud exclamations of praise.